Tuesday, November 22, 2011

School Highlights

Shannon is reading great - she's passed that fluency hump and will now read everything she can get her hands on - including to her siblings, which they adore.



Shannon would be a classroom teacher's nightmare in some ways - here she's happily doing her math work perched on a kitchen stool...
perfectly able to concentrate contorting herself around - slightly nervewreaking, but easily adapted at home.


Mary Grace is currently fascinated with bugs - here is a leaf she found in our backyard with (what we think are) caterpillar eggs.


We are using Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry this quarter and the kids are having a great time with it. Here they are making models of molecules using marshmallows and toothpicks.




Another experiment - observing chemical reactions 

(I think Mg tasted the vinegar in the cup)

Success!

What do the little ones do during school time? They are included as much as possible, but also have learned to have alone time...


Connor looks books in his favorite "nest" under my rocker.


Connor and Jack play restaurant.




Chilling out doing YogaKids Silly to Calm (great dvd!)





MG's Birthday Sweater


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Mary Grace is Five!

Mary Grace's birthday was the day I flew back to DC, so we began celebrating a little early.  In addition to getting frozen yogurt, we opened presents and had cupcakes on Tuesday.  There was a pizza picnic in the living room, and decorations carefully arranged by Shannon.  Neither my camera or my phone really wanted to cooperate in the dark-ish house, so my photos are not so great, and I have no photos of MG with my gifts - a doll, sweater, and two books, Three Days on the River in a Red Canoe (a Reading Rainbow classic! and Rapunzel).
 Jack briefly wears his party hat.












Shannon's Tooth and Myo

On my last full day in Monterey, we went to Myo for frozen yogurt for MG's birthday, and Shannon lost the tooth she'd been pushing around for the last little while.  I had the tart and the maple bacon.  Yum!